Current applications and perspectives of ion mobility spectrometry to answer chemical food safety issues

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has recently caught the attention of researchers from different fields including food safety. In general, IMS has been considered as analytical detection tool for the analysis of residues and contaminants in foodstuffs due to its high sensitivity, quick response and portability. However, IMS also provides an extra separation dimension when it is coupled to traditional liquid chromatography or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods. Due to the enhancement of the resolving power, target analytes can be easier isolated from chemical background as well as isobaric and isomeric compounds are separated. In addition, collision cross section databases for residues and contaminants have been recently reported. It supposes the first attempt for considering this IMS-related parameter as an additional dimension for chemical structure elucidation in food safety control. This review presents an overview of the current state of IMS in the field and discusses its main perspectives in the area.